6 Unique Conversion Rate Optimization Tips for Digital Startups
If there was one phrase to describe the world of e-commerce in the third decade of the 21 century, it would be “the digital era”. These days, bleeding-edge communication technology and business practices are more inseparable than ever. In fact, it is a normal occurrence to develop a company around the heavy use of Internet-based services. These new companies, their business model based almost entirely on the interconnectivity that the modern world offers, are called digital startups.
Yet as with every gold vein ever discovered, the gold rush soon follows. Nowadays, the market of digital startups is slowly becoming saturated and it’s getting significantly harder for these practices to stand out from the crowd. The free-market economy ensures that those who don’t prosper are either taken over or fade into obscurity. As such, most digital startups employ various marketing strategies in an ever desperate bid to attract clients, from traditional ones such as billboards to lead generation to even social media campaigns. The issue is, even if they succeed and the virtual traffic on their websites is at an all-time high, it doesn’t always translate to profit. One of the solutions is to prioritize conversion rate optimization.
What Is The Conversion Rate Optimization?
If you use a tool like Google Analytics and it shows a high level of traffic on your website, it means that your marketing campaigns were effective and a potential clientele core has been formed and is actively interested in your products. But interested doesn’t have to mean committed.
Conversion Rate Optimization, or CRO for short, is the set of practices used to understand what drives, stops, and persuades your websites’ users so that you may deliver them the most satisfying experience and, in turn, make them perform the desired action. These range from those with immediate effects like purchasing a product to those benefits in the long term, such as filling out forms or clicking on your links. In simple terms, what you want is to “convert” the sites’ high traffic into quantifiable gains, and the CRO practices will help you to do it in the most efficient way.
Before you learn how to boost conversions, you should calculate the conversion rate of your website by dividing your conversions by the number of your visitors and then multiplying by 100.
How To Optimize Your Conversion Rate?
Now that you understand just what the CRO is, it’s time to learn what to focus on in order to achieve the best conversion rate.
Ensure That Your Landing Page Is High Quality
The first step you should take in optimizing your conversion rate is to make sure that your landing pages are up to standard. If your landing page doesn’t look the part, the number of site visitors may start to drop. After all, a proper site structure is very important to ensure ease of access and an increase in conversion rates. To illustrate the point, look at the e-commerce site of an established vendor such as Amazon.
It’s eye-catching enough to keep the attention of a target audience, but at the same time so clear that potential customers won’t have any problems with purchasing products there. Badly designed websites may, on the other hand, make the process of buying needlessly complicated, decreasing the conversion rate percentage. Additionally, focus on the site speed. Data shows that 53% of users close a webpage if it hasn’t loaded in 3 seconds.
Optimize Your Website For Mobile Devices
You’ve probably heard the expression “mobile-first” many times by now. This means that you should take your website’s mobile interface into account first before designing any other version of it. Why? Because according to statistics, more than half of the internet traffic is generated by mobile devices.
Gone are the days when most Internet users browsed it using a PC or a laptop. Nowadays, the convenience that smartphones and tablets offer, coupled with the lower price and the fact that such devices aren’t any less powerful than their big cousins, ensures that most users in both developed and developing countries will pick a mobile as their primary Internet device. As such, making your website easily accessible for mobiles should be a priority unless you want your conversion rates to stagnate.
Make Sure That Your Product Images Are High Quality
One of the most important things about your products is their pictures. A good image will make the customers want to buy your product, while a bad one will make them doubt your professionalism. The product itself may be great, but if the image of it is subpar, your conversion rate will suffer. That’s why it’s vital for you to create product images that are both clear and high resolution. For this task, consider using good image editing software. Just make sure that they are properly optimized for mobile use, as images that display poorly can be off-putting and hurt not only the conversion rate but even the website traffic itself.
Include Call-To-Action Buttons
If you want your visitors to convert, they must first know what action you want them to take. And if a potential client doesn’t know what to do next, they will leave your site and never come back. That’s why it’s important for you to make sure that you include a “call-to-action” button on your landing page. This button is usually the most prominent element on the page so that it catches the attention of the users and makes them want to click on it. This way they know what to do next and the conversion rate will rise as a result.
Create A Sense Of Urgency
When you’re trying to sell a product, one of the most important things is to make your visitor feel like they should buy it now. You can do that by creating a sense of urgency. This can be achieved simply by displaying how many other people have already bought the product or by showing how much stock is left. Either way, the effect is the same: it is an effective marketing strategy as it creates an impression that the product you’re selling is in high demand and thus should be bought quickly before it runs out. Your conversion rates are bound to increase significantly if you use this method.
Establish Trust With Your Userbase
Trust is an important factor in conversion rate optimization. If potential customer doesn’t trust you, they will be afraid to buy your product, and the site traffic will drop. As such, it’s vital for your marketing campaigns to stress that you’re a reliable and serious business that won’t cheat them.
For example, consider showing proof such as user-written reviews that other customers have already bought it and were satisfied with the purchase. This way, you create a sense of security and assurance and thus lead to conversion optimization.
Conclusion
Even though optimizing conversion rates may seem a bit too much at first, it can really help your business grow, so implementing it can be a very important step to prosperity. If you’re knowledgeable enough, you can try to do it yourself, but if not, there are many tools and resources online that will help you with website optimization. Remember, the long-term benefits simply outweigh the initial costs. Good luck!
